Brian Brobbey becomes only the fifth player to score a Premier League hat-trick in a losing cause – and the first since 2007

Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick for Sunderland in their 5-3 defeat at Manchester City on Sunday 20 September 2026, becoming only the fifth different player to net a Premier League treble in a losing cause and the first since December 2007.

  • Headline stat: Brobbey is the fifth different player to score a Premier League hat-trick in a defeat.
  • Match: Manchester City 5-3 Sunderland, 20 September 2026.
  • Historic quirk: First such hat-trick in the top flight since December 2007.
  • Overall tally: Only the sixth time it has happened since the Premier League's formation in 1992.
  • Record holder: Matt Le Tissier is the only player to do it twice, for Southampton.
  • Pre-2000 dominance: Four of the previous five instances occurred before 2000.

The 23-year-old Netherlands striker now sits on a list that no forward wants to join, but one that guarantees a trivia question for years. His three goals were not enough to prevent Sunderland leaving the Etihad empty-handed, and the result leaves the Black Cats reflecting on a defensive display that wasted a rare individual performance.

The full list of Premier League hat-tricks in a defeat

  • Matt Le Tissier: Oldham Athletic 4-3 Southampton, 8 May 1993
  • Matt Le Tissier: Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest, 19 August 1995
  • Dion Dublin: Sheffield Wednesday 4-3 Coventry City, 4 December 1995
  • Dwight Yorke: Newcastle United 4-3 Aston Villa, 30 September 1996
  • Roque Santa Cruz: Wigan Athletic 5-3 Blackburn Rovers, 15 December 2007
  • Brian Brobbey: Manchester City 5-3 Sunderland, 20 September 2026

Brobbey's entry is the first new name on the list for nearly 19 years. Before Sunday, the most recent example was Roque Santa Cruz, whose treble for Blackburn Rovers came in a 5-3 loss at Wigan Athletic in December 2007. The Paraguayan striker's goals that day were ultimately overshadowed by a Wigan comeback, and the same pattern unfolded at the Etihad.

The four other instances all took place before the turn of the millennium, giving the list a distinctly 1990s flavour. Dwight Yorke scored three for Aston Villa in a 4-3 loss at Newcastle United in September 1996, while Dion Dublin hit a treble for Coventry City in a 4-3 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in December 1995.

No player, however, embodies this curious statistic more than Matt Le Tissier. The former Southampton forward has the dubious honour of scoring hat-tricks in two separate Premier League losses. He first achieved the feat in the competition's inaugural season, during a 4-3 defeat at Oldham Athletic in May 1993, and repeated it in August 1995 in a 4-3 home loss to Nottingham Forest.

The numbers behind the anomaly

  • Only six hat-tricks in a Premier League defeat since 1992.
  • Five different players have achieved the feat.
  • Four of those came before 2000.
  • Two belong to Matt Le Tissier.
  • The gap between Roque Santa Cruz (December 2007) and Brian Brobbey (September 2026) is 18 years and 9 months.
  • All six matches featured at least seven goals, with scorelines of 4-3 (four times) and 5-3 (twice).

Why hat-tricks in defeat are so rare

A hat-trick is supposed to be a match-winning contribution. For a player to score three and still end up on the losing side, two things must go wrong simultaneously: the team's defence must collapse completely, and the rest of the attack must fail to contribute. That combination is unusual even in the chaos of the Premier League.

In Brobbey's case, scoring three times away at Manchester City should have been enough to earn at least a point. Instead, Sunderland conceded five, meaning the striker's goals merely kept the scoreline respectable. It is the kind of performance that will be remembered by statisticians more than match-goers.

The rarity is also explained by how teams protect leads. When a player scores a hat-trick, his team is usually ahead or level, and managers react by tightening the midfield or dropping deeper. For the treble to arrive in a losing cause, the game must be a relentless, end-to-end contest with no tactical brakes applied. That is why the list is littered with 4-3 and 5-3 scorelines rather than 3-1 or 2-3.

Le Tissier's double entry is the most extraordinary element. The Southampton icon was renowned for individual brilliance in a mid-table side, and his two losing hat-tricks came in matches where his team still conceded four. No other player has come close to matching that unwanted consistency.

Talking points

  • Should Brobbey's hat-trick be remembered as a historic achievement or a footnote in a damaging defeat? Sunderland fans may struggle to celebrate it.
  • Does the 19-year gap say more about modern defensive organisation, or simply that hat-tricks in defeats are random statistical quirks?
  • Matt Le Tissier's two entries make him the undisputed king of this odd list – is that a compliment or a criticism of the Southampton sides he played in?
  • If a player scores a hat-trick and his team loses 5-3, was the forward let down by his defence or did his goals merely paper over a poor team performance?

What happens next

Sunderland must regroup quickly after a demoralising result at the Etihad. Their next fixture offers an immediate chance to respond, but the defensive issues exposed by Manchester City will be the focus on the training ground. Brobbey, meanwhile, has at least given his manager a selection headache for all the right reasons – his finishing was ruthless, and he will expect to keep his place. Manchester City move on with the three points, their attacking depth on full display. For the statisticians, the wait for the seventh hat-trick in a Premier League defeat now begins again.

Frequently asked questions

How many times has a player scored a Premier League hat-trick in a defeat?

Six times in total, by five different players, since the Premier League began in 1992.

Who was the last player before Brian Brobbey to score a hat-trick in a losing Premier League game?

Roque Santa Cruz, for Blackburn Rovers in a 5-3 defeat at Wigan Athletic in December 2007.

Has any player scored more than one Premier League hat-trick in a defeat?

Yes, Matt Le Tissier did it twice for Southampton – against Oldham Athletic in May 1993 and against Nottingham Forest in August 1995.

Filed under: Player News | LA Premier League Home